


Apnea.

by Valuable_Valewis



Series: magic in the water [2]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst and Fluff, M/M, Magic, Merpeople, kind of dark but not really?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 03:32:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17500745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valuable_Valewis/pseuds/Valuable_Valewis
Summary: It's just a trip to the customary trip to the Sauna, nothing can go wrong.Until your fighting against time for the breath you do not own.





	Apnea.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for all the support on the first part of this series. It makes me happy to see you are enjoying it thus far ;3
> 
> You know when you're drowning, you don't actually inhale until right before you black out. It's called voluntary apnea. It's like no matter how much you're freaking out, the instinct to not let any water in is so strong that you won't open your mouth until you feel like your head's exploding. - Teen Wolf.

There was snow scattering around outside, yet it was nowhere near as hard as it had been the previous night. That's how Sebastian and Lewis had found themselves still in Valtteri's house in Finland rather than on a plane back to Germany and Britain. It was the middle of April and still snowing like it was still winter.  
  
Of all four of them, Valtteri seemed to most chipper about the snowstorm, claiming it was perfect weather to hop in a sauna. Sebastian smirked at the Finn who was smiling brightly and explaining, if there was one way to engage Valtteri, it was saunas. He wasn't the only one though, Lewis was just as eager, inquiring about the sauna to which the Finn answered proudly.  
  
Valtteri was popping on his coat and preparing to put on his boots when Lewis stopped him.  
"Wait, Valtteri."  
Valtteri turned towards the Brit in confusion.  
"What if the snow melts and soaks through your boots, won't you turn?"  
Valtteri hummed, thinking about the strange predicament before running upstairs and coming down with bundles of socks.  
"Nothing can penetrate this many socks." He responded, stuffing the socks into the empty parts of the boot before putting on about 3 pairs himself.  
"Are you two coming?" Lewis asked the two Ferrari's who were sat on the sofa.  
They both turned and smiled at each other.  
"Got any more socks, Val?" Seb asked.  
\----  
Kimi walked over to Valtteri who was cutting a hole in the frozen over lake, the thick slab of ice being worn down until it was small ice cubes.  
"What are you doing?"  
"What does it look like."  
"You do know we have no use for avanto now since we can't go in fresh water without changing."  
Valtteri laughed and shrugged.  
"It's not for me. It's for Lewis."  
Kimi sure as hell hoped it was and that Valtteri could help him out because that lake was deep.  
\----  
Valtteri was the first out of the sauna, breathing in the fresh air from the outdoors feeling utterly refreshed. He was shortly followed by Sebastian. Valtteri instinctively ran over towards the ice hole he had made earlier. In a moment of pure drive, Valtteri hopped into the ice bath. Sebastian thinking no better jumped in after him.  
  
Kimi had run out of the sauna to just see the pair hopping into the ice lake. By that point, he knew it was too late to stop them. Lewis glanced at the two youngest.  
"They are not supposed to be in there, are they?" lewis deadpanned  
"No, not at all," Kimi replied strangely calmly but Lewis knew the Finn was trying not to think of a way of figuratively kill the pair.  
"How are we supposed to get them out now?"  
"It will be quite a chore, but I need your help."  
Lewis looked at the eldest and nodded before walking over to Valtteri, who was smiling sheepishly, and Sebastian, who was splashing said Finn with ice cold water.  
"What do you need me to do?"  
"Help me pull them out."  
Lewis nodded, placing his arms around Valtteri's torso, with Kimi doing the same for Seb, except slightly higher up to avoid the water.  
Sebastian, however, gripped Kimi's arm and tugged him into the ice-cold water with him.  
  
Lewis glanced at the three Mers. This was the first time he had seen all three in this form and Lewis couldn't help but marvel at the tails on all three of the others and a part of him wished he had cool transformation powers too. Valtteri caught him staring and tilted his head adorably in confusion.  
Sebastian looked dead into Lewis' eyes who pointed a finger (which was slightly more webbed than his normal human ones- Lewis noted) towards the cabin.  
"You want me to go back to the cabin, but that's like 20 minutes away man, I can't just leave you three here all alone, what if something happens."  
Kimi rolled his eyes and joined in pointing at the cabin.  
  
Lewis took one long look into Valtteri's eyes before sighing.  
"Fine. I will head back but if anything happens to Valtteri, you should be worried for your lives, just saying."  
With that, the Briton ran back towards the cabin or so it would seem, but Valtteri knew better, Lewis never gave up the fight that easily. He glanced at the two Ferrari's who pointed to the bottom of the lake and then towards the cabin. Valtteri knew that it was basically the instruction 'we are going down, the lake links to the cabin and we should be out, ready to be collected.'  
Valtteri could only hope and trust that the elder pair knew what they were doing...  
\----  
Swimming in the lake was much different from swimming in the ocean, it was even clearer, every scale on every fish was defined in utmost detail, it was almost fairytale like, there and again, this situation was fairytale-like. It was darker than the ocean but that may have been partially due to the thick ice covering the surface, one could deduce.  
  
Kimi and Sebastian were steaming along with Valtteri tailing just behind them. It was hard to tell how far away from the Cabin they really were, or if they were even going in the right direction. It worried the Finn, he knew despite having these strange, strange powers their breath underneath the surface was limited and they would have to surface at some point. Valtteri knocked a piece of Ice with his hand, it was still rock solid. The Finn's hopes began to dwindle. He could only hope one of the elders had a plan over this.  
\---  
Lewis meanwhile watched from above, suspicious and worried. They had been beneath the surface for ten minutes already and Valtteri had told him they could only breathe underwater for a quarter of an hour before they lost the ability to do so altogether.  
  
Lewis glanced at the frozen ice, knocking a piece with his knuckles. It was still rock solid and that worried the Brit. Even if they made it to the cabin, how would they get through the ice?  
Maybe, Just maybe there was some thinner ice nearby.  
\----  
A few moments later, Valtteri was the first of the trio to succumb to the end of his underwater breathing period. It was a strange sensation, almost as if a vacuum was sucking out his breath leaving him to skip a breath every so often. He glanced at the two Ferraris who didn't seem to be fairing as bad as he was, perhaps it was down to the fact both Ferraris a least had gills on their tail or they were more attune with their powers than he was. Either way, each breath was becoming harder to achieve with each passing moment. It wasn't anything like they described drowning to be like where you try not to breathe on natural instinct. No this was quite the contrary, it was like after doing extreme exercise and your body begged for oxygen and you could only hope to obey. It made the Finn extremely disorientated and dizzy, the elder pair looking like blurry red smudges in the distance. Was this what it was like to die and never be found again? The thought alone made Valtteri panic further. You won't die. You Won't Die... YouWon'tDieWon'tDie, He told himself feverishly, reaching out a hand as if to try and grip onto the last remaining hope as the two red blurs all but disappeared from his vision.  
\----  
Kimi was the first of the pair to notice Valtteri's absence, and, he too was experiencing the same fate as Valtteri but on a much milder scale. Kimi noticed Sebastian notice him stopping and gazed at the elder Finn curiously. Kimi pointed in the direction of where they had just come from. This caused Sebastian to tilt his head to the side. Kimi rolled his eyes, taking a deep engulphing breath to search for any air he could gather, before gripping Sebastian's hand and dragging him back in the direction where they had just come from.  
  
It didn't take a long time to find Valtteri, and if both could make a sound both would have gasped and called out the Finn's name. Kimi swam as fast as he could towards the Finn who was laying at the bottom of the lake, Kimi shook the Finn, shaking at how cold he was to the touch. With some amount of effort, he pulled the other into his arms. Sebastian glanced at the younger and his heart jumped to his throat, his eyes were half-lidded, yet almost in an unconscious state, almost as if he were alive but not quite there, his breaths coming too rapid as if he had just run a marathon. The look in Kimi's eyes said it all, they needed to get out soon or the same would happen to them both and Sebastian saw Kimi's breath start to pick up in speed and he could feel his too. They didn't have much time, if they wanted to get out they would have to do it fast...  
  
Sebastian smacked his tail harshly against the rock-solid ice, wincing at the action and frowning as the action had no effect on the ice. They were stuck and he doubted Lewis would be able to help them now. He glanced at the two Finns who were fairing worse than he was. He shook his head. he couldn't give up yet no one was going to die, not on his watch.  
  
After moments of smashing his tail onto the ice again, hot, angry tears formed in his eyes as red began to flood into the lake from various cuts and scrapes that formed along the scales of his tail. boiling anger was starting to erupt, it wasn't anything like normal, heated, anger, this felt like an inferno blazing over. Kimi grimaced, pulling up a hand to shield his face from the heat radiating off the other. Sebastian gasped slightly as a small flame danced in his hand and the whole surroundings started to bubble as if they were in a jacuzzi rather than an icy lake. Sebastian gazed at the small flame then at the two Finns who were ailing badly. He had no idea if this would work or not but it was worth a shot.  
  
Sebastian lifted the flames to the ice, watching as it began to melt. More, I need more, I have to save them! He begged to himself, watching as the flame seemed to grow in size almost as if it were listening to his thoughts. The ice started to melt a significant amount now, not that Sebastian was paying much attention, merely running on an autopilot of panic and instinct.  
  
Soon, a large enough hole had formed and Sebastian half hoisted himself out weakly. He saw Lewis nearby. Trust the Brit to not of listened to them.  
Lewis seemed to of heard the rush of water and glanced to the heaving merman, gasping out in shock.  
"Sebastian! What happened man! Where are the others? Are they okay? Are you okay?"  
Sebastian smiled sadly, raising a finger to his lips. Lewis obeyed politely.  
  
Sebastian delved back down, quickly finding the two Finns and, in one mass movement, pulled them to the surface of the water. Lewis on the surface jumped back at the large splash of water coming out of ice, eyes quickly turning from shock to worry in an instant, bounding over to the hole to help Sebastian help the weaker pair onto the ice, before Helping Sebastian himself. Lewis hummed in thought before glancing a little while back, the sauna wasn't too far away, it was closer than the cabin anyway.  
"Hold on two moments," Lewis told Sebastian, getting up and taking off in a sprint.  
  
Sebastian glanced at the Briton as he ran off. He scooted towards the two Finn's. Kimi looked up at him debilitated, reaching out a hand to Sebastian who took it softly. The Finn started to feel more alive in every passing moment and shuddered at the cold deadweight on his chest. He gently shook the younger Finn as if to try and rouse the other, panicking at the shuddering, broken breath he got in response. Sebastian's fear turned into anger. Valtteri of all three of them had looked the most unsure about the whole thing. Sebastian should have known it was far too long of a swim to physically make especially when being so new to the whole tail and breathing-under-water thing. Kimi almost seemed to sense his anger and distress and cupped his cheek, looking at his palm that held a flame yet again. Sebastian glanced at it too, where had it even come from and how?  
  
Before Sebastian had time to question it further, Lewis had bought over towels for the two Ferraris who took them gratefully. Kimi looked up in interest as Lewis hoisted the youngest Finn into his arms and wrapped him in his thick coat as if he had weighed about the same as a feather.  
"Once you two are dry, we should try and head back as soon as possible."  
They looked up and nodded once.  
  
Drying took even longer in ice, there was no warmth at all and the water on their scales turned to frost which was rather annoying to get rid of. Once they were dry and ready they hopped to their feet as quickly as they could, Kimi was slightly less secure on his feet, showing how weak the whole event had made them. Kimi looked past Lewis' shoulders to the younger Finn who's head was lulled and limp like a rag doll. It made him wonder what had happened to Valtteri that had caused him to succumb first out of all three of them and why Sebastian was hardly affected by it.  
"Hey Sebastian, How did you randomly make a hole in the Ice?" Lewis enquired as they were walking along.  
"I'm not quite sure myself, I was really angry and all the sudden there is a fire in my hands..."  
Lewis hummed in thought and smirked  
"You're so stupid I bet you were imagining things."  
Sebastian looked at him angrily, gritting his teeth.  
"Aha just as I thought!" Lewis exclaimed proudly, pointing to the flame in Sebastian's hand.  
Sebastian was about to shout before he glanced at what Lewis was talking about, the flame was back and brighter than ever.  
"This is just a theory, but what if it occurs when you feel a strong emotion?" Lewis speculated.  
Sebastian hummed, it seemed like a plausible answer. Lewis reached out to touch it.  
"What are you-"  
"Warm."  
"Wait, so it doesn't burn you?"  
"Nope."  
Sebastian watched as the Finn in Lewis' arms gave out a peaceful sigh at the heat before falling silent again, giving them all a sense of reassurance.  
\------  
Valtteri awoke, feeling particularly groggy, weak and sick. With a soft groan, he raised his heavy hand to his head as if to block out any pain. Where was he? The last he remembered was spending an hour in the Sauna before hopping into the ice bath and then everything in his mind seemed to fade to an inky black.  
  
The Finn huffed, dragging his lead-like legs out of the bed, gripping onto the wall for support giving out an exerted breath. His eyelids felt heavy and his legs numb, but he forced himself to the door and with a shaky hand pulled it open.  
  
Valtteri looked at the stairs and sighed. Since when was his house this much of a nuisance to him? He gripped the bannister tightly, feeling how his legs wobbled and protested at every movement. He was two steps away from the bottom when he whined, slipping down to a sitting position on the stairs.  
  
Lewis looked up from his seat on the sofa, hearing the small whine and looking towards the other rooms in a confused manner. The others were out getting firewood and he doubted they would be back now. The only other explanation was that it was Valtteri, but last time he checked, the Finn was still out cold.  
  
Deciding to get up and check, he looked at the different rooms before spying the Finn in question on the steps, sat down with shuddering breaths.  
"Valtteri? Why are you up?"  
Valtteri looked up to Lewis  
"I'm not an Invalid... I can do this myself."  
Valtteri weakly protested at the Brit who wrapped an arm around the Finn and hoisted him up.  
"You were out for a whole day! Your strength isn't fully recovered yet. Stop acting so tough for once in your life Val." Lewis chided.  
This made the Finn stop to think about what was just said. There was no way he was out a whole day, nothing about that statement made any sense to him. He felt frustration well up at his inability to remember the past events.  
"-tteri! Cooee Valtteri. Anybody home." Lewis inquired  
Valtteri blinked and nodded.  
"Are you sure you are really okay, you keep spacing out?"  
  
Valtteri tore out of his hold. Stubbornly taking a few steps forward before feeling lightheaded again, being forced to stop again.  
Lewis sighed and gripped the Finn close to him again, ignoring Valtteri's weak efforts to pry him off.  
"What did I just say, Val?" Lewis huffed at the disobedience of his usually loyal teammate. Valtteri rolled his eyes, letting Lewis direct the pair to the sofa, taking a seat.  
"Something seems to be bothering you, what's the matter?" Lewis asked softly.  
Valtteri sighed.  
"I'm confused."  
"About what?"  
"Yesterday. Or was it the day before that now. That's exactly my point, I can't really remember what happened."  
Lewis wrapped his arm tightly around the Finn in a soothing manner.  
"It's okay. Kimi told me what happened and I doubt I would want to remember..."  
"How does a sauna and jumping in an ice bath make someone weak? None of it makes sense."  
Lewis seemed to debate within himself whether or not to tell the Finn, for if he told him, he knew Valtteri would only blame himself.  
"It wasn't just a sauna, there was something else."  
Valtteri cocked his head at the words.  
"What."  
"It's not my place to tell you."  
Valtteri sighed and looked away disheartened which made the Brit sigh himself before dragging the Finn so he was lying on his chest causing the younger to give out a startled noise.  
"Try not to think about it too much and just try to sleep, you need the energy okay."  
Valtteri meekly nodded from atop the Briton, feeling his eyes slide shut surprisingly easy. Between the aches and numbness of his body to Lewis stroking his short blonde locks, the Finn found it very easy to drift back to sleep.  
\---  
"We're back!" Sebastian announced with a small pile of wood in his hands. The statement was immediately quietened by a hush from the front room. The German squeaked and tiptoed into the front room, Kimi hot on his heels.  
  
Sebastian placed the wood in a small pile in the corner of the room and turned to face Lewis, not expecting Valtteri to be there. Sebastian smiled softly at how peaceful the young Finn looked right now and suppressed the urge to coo at the two Mecs. From the mischievous glimmer in Kimi's eyes, he was pretty sure the elder Finn was thinking the same thing.  
"How did he get down here?" Sebastian whispered.  
"I don't know, I found him on the second to last step, who knows how he got out of the room when he could barely walk."  
"He is a stubborn one." Kimi mused and the other two nodded.  
  
Everyone was too distracted to see Valtteri peel open an eye and smile, before dropping off to sleep again... Somehow, almost as if it were a sense, he knew everything would work out between them in the end.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading.  
> Kudos + Comments are always appreciated ❤


End file.
